Craig Poxton’s bid for European glory came to a bloody end on Saturday night – but the man from Lowestoft left the ring with his head held high.

Poxton was beaten on points by Lyon Woodstock in their WBO European super-featherweight title clash in Leeds.

The 28-year-old suffered a terrible cut above his right eye in the second round after a clash of heads, but his corner worked minor miracles and Poxton managed to get through 10 torrid rounds, the two men standing toe-to-toe and trading punches in a contender for fight of the year.

Poxton, the Southern Area super-featherweight champion, started well, showing no signs of being overawed by the occasion – nor the growing reputation of his 24-year-old opponent.

But his dream was almost over in the second round, with referee Steve Gray calling a time-out to examine the cut. The fight continued – and it proved to be a cracker. Poxton was the better man over the first half of the fight, but Woodstock came on strong in the latter stages.

There was little in it at the end, with the judges scoring it 98-93, 97-95 and 97-93 in Woodstock’s favour.